LSU Basketball Coach Dale Brown Dies at 90 After Wooden Award News

Dale Brown, the longtime Louisiana State University basketball coach, died on Friday, Oct. 23, at the age of 90. He had a lasting impact on the sport by recruiting and mentoring Shaquille O'Neal, one of the most recognizable athletes in history.

Brown first met O'Neal in 1984 while conducting a basketball clinic at a military base in West Germany. O'Neal, then 13 years old and already standing 6 feet, 9 inches, approached Brown for advice. Brown initially assumed the teenager was a soldier and asked about his time in the Army. Upon learning the boy's age, Brown recognized his potential and began mailing him letters and basketball exercises.

The correspondence continued as O'Neal developed into a top high school prospect. Brown eventually recruited him to LSU, where O'Neal played from 1989 to 1992. During his time in Baton Rouge, O'Neal earned two consensus All-American honors and two SEC Player of the Year awards. He was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft.

O'Neal described Brown as a "father figure, leader, and a motivator" in a 2015 interview with Esquire. In a 1999 letter congratulating Brown on his induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, O'Neal wrote: "You are the only college coach I ever had, and the only one I ever wanted." The two maintained regular contact through letters and emails for decades.

Brown attended the 2000 NBA championship celebration for O'Neal's Los Angeles Lakers. That same year, O'Neal returned to LSU to complete his college degree, fulfilling a promise he made to Brown and his family when he left school in 1992. A 2015 ESPN documentary titled "Shaq & Dale" traced their relationship from Germany through O'Neal's professional career.

Just two days before Brown's death, LSU announced that he would receive the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award in April 2027. O'Neal recorded a video message on Oct. 21 to congratulate Brown on the honor. The award recognized Brown's decades of coaching and his influence on the next generation of players.